CONCERNS have been raised over plans by an officer in the Royal Navy to return land in a Chester village to agriculture.

The application has been put forward by Lt Commander James Jenkin at laurel Farm in Chorlton, Malpas.

The nine acres of former agricultural land are in the Chorlton Lane Conservation Area and are used for hay and silage, councillors were told in a report.

Lt Commander Jenkin told Chester City Council he wished to erect a three-bay agricultural building for storage.

'The land is currently not put to agricultural use and my wife and I are keen to use it in as responsible a way as is possible commensurate with the attractive countryside in which it sits,' he said.

Neighbour Helen Arthan at Chorlton Lane Farm told planning officers she had raised her concerns with Lt Commander Jenkin and pointed out they had no experience of farming.

'From my experience of keeping livestock, the storage-cum-stable that Mr Jenkin proposes to erect is unsuitable for housing or handling farm animals,' she suggested.

Chorlton Parish Meeting raised concerns the development could lead to an application for a house on the land or farming operations such as calf and pig rearing and poultry farming.

They accepted this was not Lt Commander Jenkin's intention but were concerned it could arise in the future if Lt Commander Jenkin sold Laurel Farm.

Planning officer Tracey Kay told councillors in a report the building was acceptable and that returning the land to agricultural use would enhance and respect the character of the countryside.

Referring to concerns that a plot would be created suitable for residential development, she pointed out the storage building would not be suitable for conversion and the site would not be considered as a suitable infill plot.

A condition had also been put forward to ensure the field and Laurel Farm were not separated. Miss Kay recommended the application should be approved.

Agreeing the storage building should have permission, Cllr Keith Ebben (Con, Malpas) argued the field should not be capable being sold off and used separately.

Chester's planning board agreed on a 13-0 vote that Lt Commander Jenkin should have approval for his proposed storage building.